In the past, OS News has discussed how U.S. broadband access lags many other countries in terms of cost, speed, and availability. Now, this detailed report from the New America Foundation tells why. It all comes down to a lack of competition among the carriers, which can be traced back to the days when cable companies were granted local monopolies. The report argues that "...data caps... are hardly a necessity. Rather, they are motivated by a desire to further increase revenues from existing subscribers and protect legacy services such as cable television from competing Internet services." The report's conclusion: don't expect improvements without legislative action.

It was indeed the government action in the US that caused the quasi monopoly. But the correct action of the government would indeed be legislative and to dismantle all the boons that those companies have had over the years and let the market forces decide who is the better provider. It worked in northern Europe where the state owned almost everything telecommunicative in the past. (TV, Telephone, Radio, and so on)